13 April 2012 1:22 PM

Do men get PMT? This will be the next question after claims 5% of fathers get post-natal depression

My late wife had fearful post-natal depression following the birth of each of our three children. It became successively worse with each child, lasting three, six and nine months.

They were difficult times for her. Who could ever know the cause? There are too many possibilities to make an accurate assessment. I think her hormones certainly were a major factor. Beyond that, I think that I myself was a significant cause of her disturbed mood.

This new research, from Oxford University, published in the journal 'Psychological Medicine', looked at the difficulties that some fathers experience.

I am tempted to say, 'Poor dears' but that might be unfair. I assume that any research from Oxford has a level of gravitas that demands consideration of the findings.

Even so, I wonder how on earth they made the diagnosis of post-natal depression, distinct from other possible causes.

When they go on to say that their findings could indicate that these fathers might pass their problems on to their children, they lose me. How can they possibly separate that influence from all others?

They observed that the depressed fathers communicated less with their new-born children than other fathers. So would travelling fathers or military fathers or busy fathers or drunken fathers.

Sleepless nights and the responsibilities of parenthood - both mentioned in the research as possibilities - are far from being the only influences. In any case they are mostly universal when the parents are living together.

When the researchers go on to say that lack of interaction with the father in the first few months of children's lives could subsequently lead to behavioural problems, this is pure conjecture.

This makes me wonder whether the researchers had an axe to grind. Were they looking to prove a conviction that they already had -and blinded themselves in the process?

I do not question that depressed fathers influence the emotional well-being of their children. My concern is that the depression should not be assumed to be post-natal.

Women have a difficult enough time as it is, trying to get some understanding of what they are going through in the early months of a child's life, without men trying to muscle in on the act and get more attention for themselves.

Consider what my wife was going through after the birth of our children. I was still a medical student when our first child was born. My wife continued her studies in physiotherapy but her county council stopped her grant, saying that they did not believe that she would continue her studies. We lived off one grant. We were poor but we had a wonderful life, once the first three months were over.

Subsequently, when I was a junior doctor, I was working all hours. Later I was involved in setting up in medical practice at the same time as, together with my wife, establishing a home.

I am not extrapolating from my own personal experience to say that all men should be like me or that all women have similar experiences to those of my wife.

I simply make the point that there are too many variables for the research to be valid.

Now, how about following my suggestion and doing research into whether men get tension when their wives are premenstrual? I'll bet that some do and that some psychologist will say that children will be secondarily affected.

Then politicians, of the bleeding heart tendency, will say that these men should be treated sympathetically - at the expense of their employers.

Tell that to fathers in much less privileged parts of the world than Oxford. Then duck.

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DR ROBERT LEFEVER

Dr Robert Lefever established the very first addiction treatment centre in the UK that offered rehabilitation to eating disorder patients, as well as to those with alcohol or drug problems. He was also the first to treat compulsive gambling, nicotine addiction and workaholism.
He identified 'Compulsive Helping', when people do too much for others and too little for themselves, as an addictive behaviour and he pioneered its treatment.
He has worked with over 5,000 addicts and their families in the last 25 years and, until recently, ran a busy private medical practice in South Kensington.
He has written twenty six books on various aspects of depressive illness and addictive behaviour.
He now provides intensive private one-to-one care for individuals and their families.

He has written twenty six books on various aspects of depressive illness and addictive behaviour.

He now uses his considerable experience to provide intensive private one-to-one care for individuals and their families.